Empire was an iconic title that brought us countless days of joy as well as rage thanks to its toxic online community(which game isn’t) and extremely fun gameplay. I decided to give it another go a few days ago and made a point to install a few mods to see which ones were better, as I was looking to spice things up a bit. I came across some fantastic mods and I rediscovered some mods that I used years ago, such as DarthMod; easily one of the best gameplay enhancers that I’ve come across. So to help other players I made this list so you can check out some of these fantastic mods that I came across. Be sure to back up your saves, though, and I would recommend you starting new games whenever you install multiple larger mods at the same time. They can mess with your saves or simply not work in your current ones since the game is quite a few years old. But don’t let that stop you from having some fun!
15. Imperial Destroyer Project
Check Out This Mod The mod adds a fair few new regions to the world map to make everything feel a tad newer and reinvigorated. You’ll have the chance to play and conquer new regions using new units that the mod adds. The unit models are not too well-made, which is why this mod isn’t ranked higher on this list.
14. Regiments of American Revolution
Check Out This Mod Just like the mod says, it adds a bunch of new units from the American Revolution to Empire. It contains both British and American units, so you can experience a true clash of powers during your ETW campaign!
13. Colonialism 1600 AD
Check Out This Mod Travel back to the 17th century with the Total War engine and become a truly colonial power during the early days of the world’s colonization. The mod takes you back a few years and changes the shape of the world map to make it more historically accurate to its new age. You will also experience new religions and units to fit the theme. Perfect!
12. Empire Total Chaos Mod
Check Out This Mod Alright, so this is not a serious mod. In fact, this is the closest you will get to utter madness in Empire: Total War. It changes certain units to make them far more powerful, with mortars being incredibly lethal and soldiers such as the grenadier having explosive rifles. If you’re up for a bit of non-historically accurate fun, you need to check this one out – I had a blast with it. Just don’t start a campaign because it’s going to suck.
11. Nec Pluribus Impar
Check Out This Mod This mod is a complete overhaul of the French armies, but it only focuses on the French. It adds a whole new lot of troops that are representative of the soldiers that fought for France during the Seven Years War, which allows a better transition between different stages of the game and a less radical one than the one presented originally in vanilla Empire.
10. No Protectorates Mod
Check Out This Mod Tired of every major colonial power having protectorates instead of direct control over their colonies? Install this mod. Gone are the days of New Spain failing to stop insurgents or Americans gaining their independence from Britain. It’s time to bring imperialism to a whole new level with this amazing mod and keep a better hold of the colonial world like never before in Empire: Total War.
9. Ottoman Overhaul Mod
Check Out This Mod This mod does bring a lot of positives to the table by improving the Ottoman faction. But that’s not all – you also get a few cool additions made to the overall fighting system of the game. It improves collisions, armor, morale, fatigue, and the quality of naval battles.We’re talking about a lot of minor changes that add up to something big. It might not be an overhaul, but it’s still a fantastic addition to the game nonetheless.
8. Unit Size Mod
Check Out This Mod Oh man. I know this mod doesn’t really change much, but it’s still one of my favorite Empire mods of all time. It makes regiments go from 120 units to 400, allowing you to unleash hell upon the battlefields and watch some fantastic battles come to pass. If you’re a Total War player because of cinematic epicenes, do yourself a favor and check out the Unit Size mod. It’s brilliant.
7. A Proper Empire: Terra Incognita
Check Out This Mod Terra Incognita has been at the top tier of Empire mods for a few years. It contains a bunch of new units, sounds, and a lot of different particles that truly enhance your Total War experience in a game that came out well over a decade ago. It’s not truly an overhaul, but more of a set of improvements that is sure to change the game for the better. If you want something more radical I’d suggest you check out the mod rated #2 further on this list.
6. Additional Units Mod
Check Out This Mod Friends, if new units is what you’re after please stop here. Take a minute of your time – breathe. Now, check this damn mod out. It adds a staggering number of units to the game, all of which are fully custom made and include regular army regiments as well as ships and even field marshals. Those of you who like a bit of variety injected to the game should see this mod as a must-have. It’s a fantastic overall addition to Empire and it’s sure going to make you feel like you’re playing a brand-new game.
5. Victoria: Total War
Check Out This Mod Victoria: Total War is a remaster of the original Empire: Total War game using the same base engine of Empire. But it focuses on providing more content in the form of units, armies, and regions, related to the period that ranges between the second half of the XIX century up until the First World War. This fantastic mod has been made for a long period of time, with the creator having worked on it for over 4 years. That’s some real commitment. Right now the mod is still getting updated but the patches aren’t as constant as they once were. In any case, it’s still very much an ongoing project that you can enjoy in the 2020s.
4. The Rights of Man
Check Out This Mod Alright, The Rights of Man doesn’t take the first spot on this list because of how tight the competition is. This massive overhaul was released over a decade ago in 2009, but it adds so much to the game that it still stands as one of the best Empire: Total War mods in the history of the game. New sounds, better gameplay, new units, more variety, better flags, improved smoke, realistic blood, and more historical events are added to the game… This turns Empire into an even bigger masterpiece than it was years ago.
3. Imperial Splendour
Check Out This Mod Imperial Splendour is not as much of a massive overhaul to the game as other mods on this list. But it does make some fantastic tweaks to the audio of Total War as well as bringing incredible improvements to the factions of France and Great Britain. Plenty of work went into the creation of this mod, and you can tell how fantastic it is by simply looking at its changelog. Tweaks to the tech trees as well as the Philosophy trees make the game better, more enjoyable, and keep the essence of Empire intact in the process.
2. DarthMod Empire
Check Out This Mod The DarthMod is a complete overhaul for various aspects of Empire: Total War. Not only will you be able to play with hundreds of new and different units, but the game is completely improved in terms of gameplay. The AI will no longer move pointlessly across the maps (the campaign map as well as the battle maps). You will be faced with a far more challenging experience should you install DarthMod. If you’re a Total War veteran, I do recommend you try it out. I’ve been playing this game for years and I can’t get a hold of combat against the computer in max difficulty with DarthMod installed. Good luck, commander.
1. The American Revolution Mod
Check Out This Mod This absolutely amazing mod turns the game into a massive American Revolution Total War title. With this you’ll be able to experience the most iconic battles of the American Revolution, or play through a campaign where you’ll be in charge of changing the shape of history according to how things go by your command. It’s a fully customized mod that even comes with the DarthMod AI, which can make the battles extremely challenging. Which means more fun, right? It also comes with a separate launcher as well as full compatibly with the regular Total War campaigns. This mod takes the first spot for three reasons:
How complete it is How much it adds, and How popular it is amongst Empire fans!
Absolutely giving this a gold seal of approval. Totally worth checking out if you have the time.
